Tara Ward talks to Anne Hegerty, aka The Governess, as she prepares to tear New Zealand quizzers to shreds on The Chase NZ.
If there’s one thing Anne Hegerty wants New Zealand viewers to know about The Chase, it’s that the show is not rigged. In the 15 years the quiz expert has sat upon the Chaser’s brainy throne, she’s heard all sorts of theories, from the Chasers being fed answers through secret earpieces to players being unfairly hindered by having to press their buzzers during the final chase. Hegerty is clear that the Chasers don’t wear earpieces, and they’re never guaranteed the win. “I mean, as my colleague Mark Labbett says, if it was actually rigged, wouldn’t they just get six better looking people?”
Hegerty – better known to The Chase fans as her TV alter-ego The Governess – is chatting to The Spinoff from her hotel room in Sydney, in between filming episodes of The Chase Australia and the four inaugural episodes of The Chase New Zealand. Hosted by Paul Henry, the New Zealand version of the popular British trivia series will see some of the country’s bravest quizzers go head to head with two of the world’s finest quiz brains (Hegerty is joined by Australian Chaser Issa “The Supernerd” Schultz) to win thousands of dollars and the intellectual glory of beating the Chaser.
The Governess and Paul Henry (Photo: TVNZ)
That glory will be great, given New Zealand’s enduring love affair with The Chase. Figures provided by TVNZ reveal that so far in 2025, The Chase UK and its various spinoffs (including Beat The Chaser and The Chase Australia) have reached 3.18 million viewers, or over 63% of all New Zealanders aged 5+. The show screens on terrestrial TV at least three times daily, with four different versions and over 100 episodes available on TVNZ+. Watching The Chase has become a national obsession, one that Hegerty puts down to a compelling format and the easy charm of British host Bradley Walsh. “It certainly will be interesting to see what the New Zealanders make of a New Zealand Chase that hasn’t got Bradley.”
Hegerty has appeared on nearly 500 episodes of The Chase UK since she first donned The Governess’s no-nonsense grey suit 15 years ago. Before then, Hegerty worked as a journalist and copy editor (and was a ghostwriter on two stories for Richard Scarry) and nurtured her life-long love of facts and information by competing in TV and radio quiz shows like Mastermind and Brain of Britain. After a chance meeting with a friend, Hegerty joined England’s professional quizzing circuit in 2009, the same year The Chase debuted on British television screens. When Hegerty discovered the show had been searching unsuccessfully for 16 months for a woman Chaser, she researched the role, and after four auditions, joined the show for 2010’s second season.
The Chase’s imposing stage and tension-filled atmosphere makes many a quizzer feel nervous, but Hegerty describes the show as her comfort zone. “I’m just going to answer a load of questions,” she says simply. On filming days, Hegerty goes through make-up and wardrobe to transform into The Governess, a stern and sarcastic character inspired by Hegerty’s own “horrible” aunt and grandmother. Then, a producer arrives with a laptop to fire some fast and furious warm-up questions at Hegerty (again, it’s not rigged – Hegerty emphasises these questions have no relation to those asked later in the show).
Once Hegerty makes her silent march across the bridge to sit in the Chaser’s chair, high above the contestants, she knows from experience to empty every distraction from her mind. The trick to doing well in each round is to stay focused and to never, ever think about the previous question, and when Hegerty doesn’t know an answer – her biggest subject weakness is sport – she remains confident. If in doubt, always go for the obvious answer. “I’ll put a brave face on it and just hit a buzzer, whichever button it is.”
But how does an everyday New Zealand quizzer actually beat the Chaser? There’s no easy answer, Hegerty reckons. For serious quizzers, sometimes being the only player left at the table is easier. A full house of quizzers provides a significant head start in the final chase round, but contestants can get in each other’s way by interrupting or passing too quickly. “The difficulty is in learning to read the minds of your teammates,” Hegerty says, adding that teams who try to combat this often create more confusion. “I quite enjoy watching backstage – ‘oh, they’re onto their hand signals! They’re toast, aren’t they?’”
One thing successful players should never hesitate over, Hegerty believes, is accepting the minus offer. “It can be the smart thing to do, the strategic decision.” She’s curious to discover what tactics New Zealand players will bring to The Chase, given that British quizzers are far more likely to play strategically by taking a mix of high and low cash offers, while Australian contestants are fixated with playing it safe and choosing the middle amount. “They don’t tend to really consider the other offers, which they should.”
Paul Henry (centre) with The Supernerd and The Governess (Photo: TVNZ)
If you’re a pub quiz fan who dreams of accepting the highest offer on the most successful quiz shows in the world, Hegerty has one piece of advice: keep learning. Hegerty spends her days reading news websites, researching topics on Wikipedia and testing herself on trivia websites like Sporcle. When she’s at home in England, she belongs to her local Tuesday night quiz league, and recently got up at 4.45am Australia time to join an English quiz league online. She’s also trying to read more books, and is working her way through Eric Klein’s “really rather fascinating” bronze age historical tome 1177: The Year Civilisation Collapsed.
“You’ve got to keep the brain exercised, you’ve got to keep putting stuff into it,” Hegerty reckons, adding that there is no piece of information too high or low brow. And at the age of 67, she believes you’re never too old to keep up to date with new developments. “In some ways, I’m quite down with the kids. I like my memes. I’m always interested in learning about new memes and where they’ve come from.”
As for any New Zealand-related questions she might face on The Chase NZ, Hegerty admits she hasn’t done a huge amount of research. Instead, she’s hoping the general Antipodean knowledge she has soaked up during her decade on The Chase Australia will come in handy. It’s another reminder that The Chase isn’t rigged – but whatever happens in that final chase, there’s no doubt that becoming The Governess has changed Hegerty’s life completely. “It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” she says. “It’s something I feel I can do, and I like being famous, and the money’s lovely.”
As for learning all those important facts about the All Blacks, Baldwin Street and hokey pokey? “I probably should get on that,” she jokes.
The Chase New Zealand screens on Monday, November 3 at 7.30pm on TVNZ1 and streams on TVNZ+.